[Cross-sectional field Q7"medicine of aging and the elderly" at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin : Curriculum and evaluation by students].

AIMS

There have only been a few publications focussing on how the curriculum Q7 "medicine of aging and the elderly" is implemented at German medical schools. In order to stimulate discussion about the implementation of Q7 the authors present the results of a survey of medical students of the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The aim of the survey was to identify items that contribute to a good course and thus improve the quality of lectures and courses in geriatric medicine with the overall aim to encourage more students to become geriatricians after their studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medical students from the fifth clinical semester were interviewed in anonymous form following each course using standardized questionnaires for organizational and didactic topics. Factor analysis, proof of reliability, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were performed as statistical methods.

RESULTS

The proof of reliability of questionnaires showed good internal consistency with Cronbachs alpha values of 0.88 (seminars), 0.91 (lectures) and 0.92 (bedside teaching). The overall response rate was very high (95.3%, n = 803 questionnaires). The ratings for questionnaire items in the three teaching formats (i.e. seminars, lectures, bedside teaching) ranged mostly from good to very good. In the correlation analysis across all three teaching formats clear communication of learning objectives, the treatment of topics according to their own expectations and the learning experience were rated as most relevant overall.

CONCLUSIONS

The evaluation results indicate a high level of satisfaction with the curriculum of geriatrics at the Charité, which can therefore be recommended across faculties taking into account the criteria named.